An Online Survey to Evaluate Knowledge, Attitude and Practices Regarding Immuno-Nutrition During COVID Pandemic in Indians Staying in Different Countries

Alifia Bhol¹*, Neha Sanwalka², Jamila Taherali Imani³, Sakina Mustafa Poonawala⁴, Tabassum Patel⁵, Sadiyya Mohammed Yusuf Kapadia⁶ and Maria Abbas Jamali⁷

¹Department of Dietetics, NutriAl Diet Clinic,Mumbai, India.

²Department of Research and Statistics, NutriCanvas, Mumbai, India.

³Department of Dietetics, Nutrition By Jamila, Mombasa, Kenya.

⁴Department of Dietetics, NutriAl Diet Clinic, London, United Kingdom.

⁵Department of Dietetics, NutriAl Diet Clinic, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

⁶Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, Beat Diabetes Project, Mumbai, India.

⁷Department of Dietetics, AL Hareer 16, Kuwait.

Corresponding Author Email: alzrulz52@gmail.com

The objective of the study was to evaluate knowledge and attitude regarding immuno-nutrition in Indians residing in different parts of the world and to evaluate practices adopted during lockdown to boost immunity. A rapid assessment survey was conducted using Google Forms which was circulated amongst Indian community residing in different countries using various social media platforms. Data was collected from 325 Indians from 11 different countries. Participantswere regrouped into 4 groups:South Asia, Europe, East Africa and Western Asia based on geographical location.About 85% participants identified most factors that either boost or suppress immunity. More than 90% participants reported vitamin C, vitamin D, vitamin B12, proteins and iron as the nutrients that boost immunity. Higher percentage of Indians from South and Western Asia reported that holy basil, asafoetida, cardamom, nuts and Chawanprashhelped boost immunity as compared to Indians from Europe and East Africa (p less than 0.05).The overall minimum knowledge score obtained by participants was 45% and maximum was 100%. Highest marks were obtained by Indians from Western Asia followed by Indians from South Asia then Europe and lastly East Africa. However, there was no significant difference marks obtained by participants of 4 regions (p greater than 0.05). Almost 1/3rd participants had misconception that immunity can be boosted in short amount of time.There was a significant difference in practices adopted by participants across different regions (p less than 0.001). Indians from Western Asia and South Asia adopted supplement and food based approaches to boost immunity as compared to Indians from other 2 regions. Though the overall knowledge regarding immuno-nutrition was similar in Indians from all 4 regions, the attitude and strategies adopted to boost immunity varied from region to region. There is a need to conduct educational programs to help improve the attitude and strategies adopted to boost immunity in Indians staying across the globe.

Covid 19; Home Remedies; Immunity; Immuno Nutrition; KAP Study

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